# Song Parodies That Are Better Than The Original **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 12, 2014, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-parodies-that-are-better-than-the-original/681168 "2014-02-12T17:48:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-parodies-that-are-better-than-the-original/681168/41 "2014-02-13T16:34:44Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > Yeah, I’m not hearing “All Together Now” at all in this parody. I wasn’t aware the Sgt Pepper flourishes were added later, and that makes sense. “Cheese and Onions” always sounded more like immediately post-Beatles Lennon, something that would have fit in with “Imagine” or “Mind Games.” I never got the Yellow Submarine context and never could figure out what song it was trying to parody (unlike all the other Rutles songs). I thought maybe “Day in the Life,” but wasn’t sure. The other Rutles tunes didn’t require a lot of guessing. The thing I liked about the Rutles, and I bought their first album right after “All You Need is Cash” aired, was that the humor was subtle and the songs were well written and performed. I don’t know anyone who lives under a rock to test this, but I suspect someone who never heard of the Beatles could enjoy many of their songs just as songs, even if they didn’t know they were humorous. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-parodies-that-are-better-than-the-original/681168/42 "2014-02-13T16:36:32Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > A whole lot of Spike Jones songs, but especially > > “My Old Flame” > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9D2A32KUTq0](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9D2A32KUTq0) > > “The William Tell Overture” > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BavRrRNvz8g](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BavRrRNvz8g) > > and “Pal-Yat-Chee” > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7EobJgARUo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7EobJgARUo) I was going to mention Spike Jones. My favorite is “Chloe,” which has one of my favorite jokes in it. [SPOILER]_phone rings_ SINGER: Hello? You don’t say! You don’t say! You don’t say! _hangs up_ AUDIENCE: Who was it? SINGER: He didn’t say! Later in the song _phone rings_ SINGER: Hello? You don’t say! You don’t say! You don’t say! _hangs up_ AUDIENCE: Who was it? SINGER: Same guy![/SPOILER] ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-parodies-that-are-better-than-the-original/681168/43 "2014-02-13T16:42:46Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > The thing I liked about the Rutles, and I bought their first album right after “All You Need is Cash” aired, was that the humor was subtle and the songs were well written and performed. I don’t know anyone who lives under a rock to test this, but I suspect someone who never heard of the Beatles could enjoy many of their songs just as songs, even if they didn’t know they were humorous. I agree. They did some good tunes, and the fact that they happened to be parodies was gravy! ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-parodies-that-are-better-than-the-original/681168/44 "2014-02-13T16:45:14Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > The thing I liked about the Rutles, and I bought their first album right after “All You Need is Cash” aired, was that the humor was subtle and the songs were well written and performed. I don’t know anyone who lives under a rock to test this, but I suspect someone who never heard of the Beatles could enjoy many of their songs just as songs, even if they didn’t know they were humorous. As a side note, any fan of The Rutles needs to check out the Utopia album [Deface the Music](http://www.amazon.com/Deface-Music-Utopia/dp/B00122TEHA/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1392309743&sr=1-1), which is a similar collection of Beatles pastiches, though maybe not quite as humorous. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-parodies-that-are-better-than-the-original/681168/45 "2014-02-13T18:09:08Z")
> [@jrepka](#): > > _ **What if God Smoked Cannabis** _ not only holds up to the original song, but Al got Joan Osborne to sing it! > [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > If that second part is a joke, it’s over my head, but you know, not every parody song is by Weird Al. (Bob Rivers I guess) Yes, that’s correct, Bob Rivers recorded “What if God Smoked Cannabis,” not Weird Al. And it wasn’t Joan Osborne singing, it was a sound-alike singer. That’s one of the things I enjoy about Bob Rivers, he employs singers who sound remarkably like the original artists. But Osborne liked the parody so much, she has performed it in concerts. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-parodies-that-are-better-than-the-original/681168/46 "2014-02-13T19:24:19Z")
mbh already brought up the great Spike Jones, (not to be confused with Spike Jonez.) Between Spike and Weird Al was Allan Sherman, who made parody hay out of not just folk songs (_Sarah Jackman_ from _Frere Jacques_) and jazz standards (_Eight Foot, Two, Solid Blue_ from _Five Foot, Two_, _Automation_ from _Imagination_ and the incomparable _I See Bones_ from _C’e Ci Bon_) to classical melodies (_Hello, Muddah, Hello, Fadduh_ from _Dance of the Hours_ and _Hungarian Goulash #5_ from _Hungarian Rhapsody #5_) Allan Sherman’s entire albums may be heard on [Youtube.com](http://Youtube.com) . Please forgive my French spelling. I’m not hip to that. Sherman apparently wrote a symphonic piece, which I can’t locate. Working with a classic orchestra, he found the trombonists did not have plunger mutes. He went to a hardware store to buy some plumber’s plungers for the trombones. He didn’t bother with the wooden handles, telling the clerk he wouldn’t need them. “Trust me, you’re gonna need the handles,” said the clerk. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-parodies-that-are-better-than-the-original/681168/47 "2014-02-13T19:32:54Z")
I think _[Hey There Cthulhu](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxScTbIUvoA&feature=kp)_ is loads better than the original, sentimental _Hey There Delilah_. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-parodies-that-are-better-than-the-original/681168/48 "2014-02-13T20:06:36Z")
The best satirical singer/songwriter of the last half of the twentieth century is Tom Lehrer. He’s better than Allan Sherman, better than Spike Jones, better than Stan Freberg, better than Peter Schickele (P. D. Q. Bach), better than Weird Al Yankovic. Some of his songs were based on previous specific songs, but some were just imitating the general form of certain genres. And he did his singing and songwriting in his spare time, never considering himself a full-time musician. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-parodies-that-are-better-than-the-original/681168/49 "2014-02-13T21:53:50Z")
Corky and the Juice Pigs have a few songs that are more “style” parodies than parodies of specific songs. [“REMember”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9ES2rmibvA) is a parody of R.E.M., and “Janitor” is a parody of Neil Young. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-parodies-that-are-better-than-the-original/681168/50 "2014-02-14T04:26:45Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Oh, c’mon. I’m not much of a Nirvana fan, but gimme a break. Seriously. _Smells Like Teen Spirit_ has a catchy beat, but it’s literally a bunch of random nonsense. _Smells Like Nirvana_ is hilarious. “It’s hard to _bargle nargle nous_ with all these marbles in my mouth.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2014, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-parodies-that-are-better-than-the-original/681168/51 "2014-02-14T18:05:54Z")
Cheech and Chong’s “Born In East L.A.” is better than “Born in the U.S.A.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-parodies-that-are-better-than-the-original/681168.md?page=2)